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It is believed to have infected passengers on a number of cruise ships in recent months

Health officials track it on cruise ships, leading to more frequent reporting

A new outbreak of a gastrointestinal illness aboard a cruise ship may have been caused by the norovirus, the ship's operator said Wednesday.

At least 66 passengers and 17 crew members came down with a quickly spreading digestive bug aboard the Crown Princess, said spokeswoman Karen Candy of Princess Cruises.

They have been isolated in their quarters, and the ship has implemented sanitation procedures developed in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to slow the disease's spread.

The Crown Princess, which has room for more than 3,000 passengers, left Los Angeles on Saturday for a seven-day Pacific cruise.

Though Princess Cruises believes norovirus is at the root of the outbreak, due to the quick increase in the cases of gastric ailment, Candy did not confirm it as the cause.

Cruise ship mishaps 13 photos

Cruise ship mishaps13 photos

The cruise ship Norwegian Dawn sits aground near Bermuda's North Channel on Tuesday, May 19. "Norwegian Dawn temporarily lost power as the ship was departing King's Wharf, Bermuda. The ship's propulsion was affected and, at which time, the vessel made contact with the channel bed. All guests and crew are safe," spokeswoman Vanessa Picariello said.

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Cruise ship mishaps13 photos

Since the start of 2015, the CDC has recorded five outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness aboard cruise ships, including the latest outbreak in April on the Celebrity Infinity.

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Cruise ship mishaps13 photos

On a March 30-April 14 sailing, the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Legend of the Seas reported more than 115 sick passengers and crew.

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Cruise ship mishaps13 photos

In January, more than 200 passengers and crew became ill with norovirus on Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas.

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Cruise ship mishaps13 photos

During a fall 2014 sailing, 158 passengers and 14 crew members became ill with norovirus on Princess Cruises' Crown Princess. The ship's passengers were also sickened during an April 2014 sailing.

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Cruise ship mishaps13 photos

A federal judge ruled Carnival Cruise Lines liable and responsible for the engine fire that left the ill-fated Triumph cruise adrift in the Gulf of Mexico in February 2013. More than 4,200 passengers endured power outages, overflowing toilets and food shortages.

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Cruise ship mishaps13 photos

A norovirus outbreak aboard Princess Cruises' Caribbean Princess sickened 181 passengers and 11 crew members during a late January 2014 sailing.

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Cruise ship mishaps13 photos

Nearly 700 crew and passengers fell ill aboard Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas in January 2014. It is the highest number of sick people reported on any cruise ship in two decades, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Cruise ship mishaps13 photos

In 2013, the Silver Shadow, run by Silversea Cruises, failed a CDC health inspection over concerns about hiding food in crew cabins.

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Cruise ship mishaps13 photos

On Memorial Day 2013, a fire aboard Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas cut short a seven-day cruise to Port Canaveral, Florida, and the Bahamas. The ship changed its course and sailed under its own power to Freeport in the Bahamas.

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Cruise ship mishaps13 photos

The Carnival Dream, shown here at its North American debut in November 2009, lost power in March 2013, and some of its toilets stopped working temporarily. For a time, no one was allowed to get off the vessel, docked at Philipsburg, St. Maarten, in the eastern Caribbean.

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Cruise ship mishaps13 photos

During a surprise visit in August 2012, CDC inspectors found multiple sanitation violations on the Holland America ship ms Veendam (shown here in March 2012). The CDC found enough violations, including brown liquid dripping on clean dishes and a fly on the buffet, to give the Veendam a failing grade.

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Cruise ship mishaps13 photos

A fire in the Carnival Splendor engine room in November 2010 crippled the cruise ship, stranding passengers off the coast of Mexico for several days without air conditioning or hot showers.

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EXPAND GALLERY

Norovirus is known for being readily contagious. It causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, and is believed to have infected passengers on a number of cruise ships in recent months.